Monday, May 21, 2012

Beckon by Tom Pawlik

Three
visitors end up in Beckon, Wyoming and the first we read of is Jack.
The last time he had seen his father was when Jack was only nine
years old. An anthropologist at the University of Chicago, Jack's
father had gone out west to do some field research on an old Indian
legend. He had never returned nor been heard of again. Twelve years
later Jack is going through his father's things, preparing for the
estate sale. He finds some notes and the drawing of an artifact,
dated just four months before his father had left. Jack convinces
his best friend to go with him to Wyoming, to solve the mystery of
his father's disappearance.

Jack
finds much more than he had ever anticipated. Caves in the Wyoming
foothills with flesh eating monsters and eventually, Beckon, Wyoming.

But
he's a prisoner. Also a prisoner is police officer Elina who trailed
a van to the hidden town. It was a van that had once picked up her
cousin. Promised work, the cousin had never been seen again and she
was determined to find him.

The
third visitor to Beckon is a wealthy business man, lured to the town
by the promise of a cure for his wife's dementia.

What
each of them has found in Beckon is a nightmare. Vale, the boss of
the town, had discovered the nearby cave in 1878 while gold
prospecting. And yes, he's still alive. But the price he pays for
life is the death of others. And Jack and Elina are next.

Wow.
This is an exciting book. The action is intense and continuous.
The monsters and other underground beings are so creepy I didn't want
to read the book to late into the evening. In addition to the high
action, there are also questions of what is right and how one fights
evil. This is a well written and very entertaining book. It will
keep you reading to the last page.

Books I've read

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About Me

I am a retired Christian bookstore owner of 33 years. I still love books and read as many as I can, blogging my reviews. I have also taken up photography and sell photos of Whidbey Island and nearby landscapes.